Love Together (Trial Marriage) Episode 17 Recap
> Love Together (Trial Marriage) Recap
After the safety risks of the Floating Island project were exposed, Dingzhuang Group's capital chain broke, and Fete Venture Capital demanded immediate fulfillment of their gambling agreement. Gu Huaiheng then realized that Zhao Guobang, the chairman of Fete Venture Capital, was also Mu Qiuhui's former lover. Witnessing Mu Qiuhui's suffering at Gu Huaiheng's hands, Zhao Guobang began helping Gu Lingse to bring down Gu Huaiheng. Gu Lingse confronted Gu Huaiheng, accusing him of manipulating the market and forging contracts.
She reminded him that twenty years prior, he had forged Ye Nanchuan’s seal, laying the blame for the Hanging Garden collapse entirely on Ye Nanchuan, unaware that her mother, Mu Qiuhui, had hidden the original contract Gu Huaiheng had signed. Gu Huaiheng philosophized about the ruthlessness required in business, suggesting Gu Lingse was becoming like him, but she vehemently denied it.
Gu Peiya angrily lashed out at Gu Lingse for betraying their father, but Gu Lingse retorted that Gu Huaiheng was only Gu Peiya's father. Gu Huaiheng then pleaded with Gu Lingse to spare Gu Peiya, claiming his daughter was innocent. Gu Lingse agreed, but only on the condition that Gu Huaiheng publicly confess all his past misdeeds.
In his confession, Gu Huaiheng admitted that he had disregarded Ye Nanchuan's warnings about the incomplete blueprint for the Hanging Garden, leading to its collapse. Facing career ruin and imprisonment, he turned to Zhou Meilan, who offered to save him through her father's influence if he married her. Despite his relationship with Mu Qiuhui, Gu Huaiheng agreed. Zhou Meilan then confronted Mu Qiuhui, showing her photographic evidence of her relationship with Gu Huaiheng.
She taunted Mu Qiuhui, revealing that Gu Huaiheng was facing jail time and that only she could save him, while Mu Qiuhui was merely a hindrance, and subtly threatened Gu Lingse. Gu Huaiheng manipulated Mu Qiuhui, feigning helplessness and claiming Zhou Meilan was forcing him. He convinced Mu Qiuhui to divorce him and go into hiding, promising to remarry her once the situation stabilized.
Shortly after, at his wedding to Zhou Meilan, guests gossiped about Mu Qiuhui, calling her a "vixen" and Gu Lingse an "illegitimate child." A young Gu Lingse bravely defended her mother, only to be chastised by Zhou Meilan and ignored by Gu Huaiheng. He concluded his confession by stating that marrying Zhou Meilan had indeed saved him from prison and boosted his career. Upon hearing the full truth, Mu Qiuhui, who was present, collapsed.
News reports confirmed Gu Huaiheng's arrest for economic crimes, including market manipulation and contract forgery. As he was being taken away, Zhou Meilan and Gu Peiya tearfully bid him farewell. Gu Huaiheng instructed Gu Peiya to always keep an item named "Xiba" with her, claiming it could save her life, and told her to relay a message to Jiang Han: his wife and daughter, along with his company, were now in Jiang Han's care.
Later, Gu Peiya, distraught by her home being raided by authorities, called Jiang Han, who promised to pick her up. In an internal monologue, Jiang Han resigned himself to executing Gu Huaiheng's plan to take down Future Group, confirming he had been forced into collusion. At the hospital, Mu Qiuhui awoke with her memory regressed to the age of eighteen, calling Gu Lingse "sister."
Doctors informed Gu Lingse and Zhao Guobang that she was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, requiring hospitalization, drug treatment, psychological intervention, and absolute quiet. Zhao Guobang, deeply concerned, offered to pay for an entire floor to ensure her recovery, but Gu Lingse calmed him, promising to stay by Mu Qiuhui's side. Shortly after, Mu Qiuhui disappeared from her hospital room.
Meanwhile, Ye Chengshu received an urgent call about a general shareholder meeting at Dingzhuang Group, where Gu Huaiheng was suspected of still pulling strings. He rushed to the company, assuring Gu Lingse he would return quickly. Upon arriving, Ye Chengshu and Jiang Wenbin found Jiang Han announcing himself as the acting chairman of Dingzhuang Group. Jiang Wenbin furiously questioned his authority, but Jiang Han brazenly claimed the Floating Island design as his own.
A board member supported Jiang Han, and overcome with rage, Jiang Wenbin collapsed. Doctors revealed that Jiang Wenbin had a brain angioma that had ruptured due to his strong emotions, and his recovery was uncertain. Jiang Han then violently confronted Ye Chengshu, blaming him for his father's condition and accusing him of convincing his father to refuse treatment. Six months later, a news report summarized the recent shake-up at Dingzhuang Group.
Following Gu Huaiheng's arrest, Jiang Han, formerly Future Group's design director, had joined Dingzhuang Group and become its largest shareholder. Gu Lingse, the former chairman, had mysteriously vanished, and her shares were now held by her husband, Ye Chengshu, making him the second-largest shareholder. Dingzhuang Group had since transformed its business, focusing on urban infrastructure and renewal. Ye Chengshu, now a manager at Dingzhuang, continued to search for Gu Lingse, aware that she might be deliberately avoiding him.
His assistant noted his exhaustion from the relentless search. Back at the company, during a quarterly planning meeting, a rival manager pointed out that a project under Ye Chengshu's charge had been officially abandoned. Ye Chengshu calmly replied that it was completed the day before, prompting the manager to sarcastically praise him as a "talent spotter" for salvaging it. The meeting then shifted to the renovation project of Yushan Street.
It was revealed that six months prior, "out-of-towners" had helped residents negotiate for five times the standard relocation compensation, a deal that residents now found insufficient, demanding ten times the price for their properties.
